So, I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been having a mediocre week with hold'em. I only took home about 1/2 of what I normally make weekly, and it kinda frustrated me, but so be it, that's poker. One notable hand was my AA verses pocket 4s. I shoved when the flop came 6 2 J (rainbow) with one pre-flop all-in already in the pot. I had the guy with pocket 4s covered, and I put him on a small pocket pair, yet he for some reason called me (He looked a little frustrated, so he may have been having a bad day, who knows). I turned over my aces, he said "okay so I need a four" and started calling for one loudly. turn was a blank and guess what the river was? The case 4 (someone else said that they had folded a 4 pre-flop). Anyhow, at least I'm not down for the week, right?
One thing I forgot to mention about asking "How much do you have behind?" is what people called "Implied Odds". For a full definition, check out the poker glossary linked on the left hand side of the page, but in brief it's basically an "okay, how much money can I potentially get from you, or how much money can I potentially lose if I hit air the whole way?" The glossary will probably be able to define it absolutely perfectly for you, so I'd recommend looking there for more info.
Okay, so the title of this post is a little misleading. I'm not going to teach you how to bluff, or even really talk about strategies on HOW to bluff, I'm just going to refer you to a player named Tom "Durrr" Dwan. He's young, about my age, but the difference between he and I is that he made 38m (Yea, that m stands for million) dollars last year playing Poker, whereas I... well I didn't make 38 million dollars. Anyhow, I've been watching a lot of High Stakes Poker lately, online, and it's sorta changed my opinion of this guy. I used to really think he was just a showboating kid that played too much online poker - well, okay, he is - but he can sure as hell back it up. Check out some of the bluffs, semi bluffs, and traps he performs here: http://tv.gsn.com/shows/highstakespoker/ . At the end of one of the episodes (I can't remember which one, but it was fairly recent) he bluffs at a 628k pot with 9 high and TAKES IT!. I give a lot of credit to Phil Ivey, though, another player I really don't like (and is considered the world's best overall poker player - this includes all forms of poker, not just Texas Hold'em), who actually considered calling with a pair of sixes. Check it out if you're interested. It's a really long hand, but the final result is spectacular. Anyhow, that's it for now. Goodluck at the tables.
Nick
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
PLAY SUITED CONNECTORS!
So after a very long day playing hold'em, including an arguement with a very unnecessarily rude waitress, I've decided to write about the importance of playing suited connectors and gapped suited connectors. This includes hands like 5 6 suited, 8 9 suited, 3 5 suited, 6 8 suited, etc. I'd also like to talk about the importance of calling a large bet with 3 or 4 callers in position (being last to act) with a low hand (3 5 suited, etc.)
Anyhow, play suited connectors. Not only do they potentially give you draws to a straight, but they also allow you to make your flushes, or, if you're lucky, straight flushes. Anyhow, an example from a hand I played yesterday; I had 7 8 of diamonds pre-flop, with decent position (there were 2 or 3 people behind me, but I sensed weakness and thought they might fold to a big bet on the flop, which they eventually did). I was faced with a medium sized raise from the small blind, which I called, as did one person in front of me and one behind. The flop came 5-9-K with two diamonds, giving me a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw (needing the 6 for a straight). The initial raiser checked the flop, as did the other person in front of me. I bet half the pot, and the person behind me folded, giving me position on the turn. The small blind (the initial raiser) called the bet, and the other player folded. On the turn came a 6, giving me the nut straight. The small blind, to my surprise, bet the pot, and I smoothcalled after some "thought". The river was irrelevant, as the small blind bet the pot again. I "thought" for a minute, and went all in. After some deliberation, I was called and I won the rather healthy pot. Playing connectors makes it harder for your opponents to put you on straights, as you have two cards needed to make the hand, instead of just one in the middle, for example. They're a tricky hand to play sometimes, but I say give them a try, you'll probably find them very useful.
Even though I actually LOST money yesterday, playing throughout the day/night reinforced a few valuable lessons I had learned in the past, which I thought I'd share with those of you that read my blog.
Lesson 1: just because you flop a set with two Queens on the board, doesn't mean you have the nuts. Someone can have a Q with a higher kicker, or a boat with the 3rd flop card making them a set. Don't be blinded by what you think is the nuts, evaluate the situation before making reckless calls. Sometimes your set won't be the best hand.
Lesson 2: When a player in early position makes a big three bet raise (raises three times the initial bet or, in the case of preflop action, the pot), and two or three people call behind him, evaluate what sorts of hands they'd be calling with. Chances are they're all calling with BIG hands, like A K, A Q, K Q, etc. This means that if you have a hand like 3 5 suited, there are more cards in the deck that you can catch to win, seeing as they all have each other's outs, and no one has yours. So me, with position called with 3 5 suited, and got lucky with a flop of 3 3 K. It was checked to me, so I decided I'd try to set a little trap and checked as well. On the turn came a 7, again, everyone checked. The river came yet ANOTHER 3, giving me quads. To my surprise, it was checked all the way down to me, so I decided to bet the pot, making it look like I was trying to steal. Everyone folded save for one person, who looked at me curiously and called with pockets Qs (which was a little bit of justice for me as I had lost two or three all-ins earlier in the day with pocket Qs). I turned over my tiny 3 5 suited and won the pot. So next time you're in a similar situation pre-flop, consider what all of your opponents are calling a big bet with, your small hand might actually be a favourite.
Nick
Anyhow, play suited connectors. Not only do they potentially give you draws to a straight, but they also allow you to make your flushes, or, if you're lucky, straight flushes. Anyhow, an example from a hand I played yesterday; I had 7 8 of diamonds pre-flop, with decent position (there were 2 or 3 people behind me, but I sensed weakness and thought they might fold to a big bet on the flop, which they eventually did). I was faced with a medium sized raise from the small blind, which I called, as did one person in front of me and one behind. The flop came 5-9-K with two diamonds, giving me a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw (needing the 6 for a straight). The initial raiser checked the flop, as did the other person in front of me. I bet half the pot, and the person behind me folded, giving me position on the turn. The small blind (the initial raiser) called the bet, and the other player folded. On the turn came a 6, giving me the nut straight. The small blind, to my surprise, bet the pot, and I smoothcalled after some "thought". The river was irrelevant, as the small blind bet the pot again. I "thought" for a minute, and went all in. After some deliberation, I was called and I won the rather healthy pot. Playing connectors makes it harder for your opponents to put you on straights, as you have two cards needed to make the hand, instead of just one in the middle, for example. They're a tricky hand to play sometimes, but I say give them a try, you'll probably find them very useful.
Even though I actually LOST money yesterday, playing throughout the day/night reinforced a few valuable lessons I had learned in the past, which I thought I'd share with those of you that read my blog.
Lesson 1: just because you flop a set with two Queens on the board, doesn't mean you have the nuts. Someone can have a Q with a higher kicker, or a boat with the 3rd flop card making them a set. Don't be blinded by what you think is the nuts, evaluate the situation before making reckless calls. Sometimes your set won't be the best hand.
Lesson 2: When a player in early position makes a big three bet raise (raises three times the initial bet or, in the case of preflop action, the pot), and two or three people call behind him, evaluate what sorts of hands they'd be calling with. Chances are they're all calling with BIG hands, like A K, A Q, K Q, etc. This means that if you have a hand like 3 5 suited, there are more cards in the deck that you can catch to win, seeing as they all have each other's outs, and no one has yours. So me, with position called with 3 5 suited, and got lucky with a flop of 3 3 K. It was checked to me, so I decided I'd try to set a little trap and checked as well. On the turn came a 7, again, everyone checked. The river came yet ANOTHER 3, giving me quads. To my surprise, it was checked all the way down to me, so I decided to bet the pot, making it look like I was trying to steal. Everyone folded save for one person, who looked at me curiously and called with pockets Qs (which was a little bit of justice for me as I had lost two or three all-ins earlier in the day with pocket Qs). I turned over my tiny 3 5 suited and won the pot. So next time you're in a similar situation pre-flop, consider what all of your opponents are calling a big bet with, your small hand might actually be a favourite.
Nick
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
"How much do you have behind?"
Boy I love flopping quad kings on someone with aces. Prime example of the proper use of the check call - I had KK in the small blind, and was prepared to chop the pot, until, that is, the button raised. I said "out of sheer disrespect for that raise, I min raise you", and I did. the BB, jokingly says "out of a GREATER disrespect for the button raise, I call". The initial raiser also called. The flop came K-K-Q, with 2 clubs on board. I checked, the Big blind min raised, the button reraised, I smoothcalled. Needless to say, the other 2 cards were irrelevant (to me, anyhow). I ended up taking the button's entire stack, the big blind having checked out on the turn. Sometimes representing a big hand isn't always the way to go (when you actually have one). If you know your opponent has a big pocket pair, and you have a set, or quads in this case, make them bet. Smooth call down till the river, when you nervously say "all-in" after some "thought". Make them believe you were drawing to a flush that never came and you're trying to bluff them off their hand.
Anyhow, as per request, I'll write a little about what it means to ask, or be asked "How much do you have behind?". When you're faced with a big raise preflop, sometimes it's a good idea to ask a player how much they have in their stack for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include knowing how pot committed a player is, how much of their stack they're willing to throw away, getting a read on them when they answer you (IF they answer you), seeing if they're willing to talk or just lay their chips out for you to count, etc. Many players believe that actually counting out your chips and telling the inquirer the amount is a sign of weakness. It's like saying "I have $2500 left behind, after raising $1200 into an $800 pot, please don't call I'm trying to steal". More often than not, people actually telling you the amount will either count it out nervously, or count it out with confidence, so you can use that as a strength indicator. I, personally, will tell my opponent the amount 9/10 times, but then again I don't really get visibly nervous at the tables so I'm not worried about them getting a read on me that way. A good way to prevent people from reading you is to just lay your chips out (try not to let your hands shake, as this can be a sign that you're either very strong or very weak) in stacks for your opponent to count, if you know you're not confident enough to casually say "I've got about.... $5000 behind" without giving anything away. If your opponent senses weakness and they've got position (making them last to act) with no other callers, they might attempt an all-in move, potentially causing the raiser (bluffer) to fold.
Another reason I mentioned is them wanting to know how pot committed you are. If you've just raised more than half your stack, chances are you'll call pretty much any re raise they make. Other times a player will ask how much you have behind in order to know how much they can take from you, or even to see how much of their OWN stack they'll need to risk in the hand. If the player has just bet $400 of his $2800 stack, chances are they'd be likely to call a big bet on the flop, but might consider folding. They have enough invested in the hand, but could still get away from it if need be.
To sum it up, it's all about gauging strength and potential risk. A player with a strong hand might want to put your big bet to the test preflop by putting you all-in. A player with a marginal hand might fold once they know how big your stack is. I hope this answered the posed question, and I'll be back to write more about tells and the like sometime soon.
Nick
Anyhow, as per request, I'll write a little about what it means to ask, or be asked "How much do you have behind?". When you're faced with a big raise preflop, sometimes it's a good idea to ask a player how much they have in their stack for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include knowing how pot committed a player is, how much of their stack they're willing to throw away, getting a read on them when they answer you (IF they answer you), seeing if they're willing to talk or just lay their chips out for you to count, etc. Many players believe that actually counting out your chips and telling the inquirer the amount is a sign of weakness. It's like saying "I have $2500 left behind, after raising $1200 into an $800 pot, please don't call I'm trying to steal". More often than not, people actually telling you the amount will either count it out nervously, or count it out with confidence, so you can use that as a strength indicator. I, personally, will tell my opponent the amount 9/10 times, but then again I don't really get visibly nervous at the tables so I'm not worried about them getting a read on me that way. A good way to prevent people from reading you is to just lay your chips out (try not to let your hands shake, as this can be a sign that you're either very strong or very weak) in stacks for your opponent to count, if you know you're not confident enough to casually say "I've got about.... $5000 behind" without giving anything away. If your opponent senses weakness and they've got position (making them last to act) with no other callers, they might attempt an all-in move, potentially causing the raiser (bluffer) to fold.
Another reason I mentioned is them wanting to know how pot committed you are. If you've just raised more than half your stack, chances are you'll call pretty much any re raise they make. Other times a player will ask how much you have behind in order to know how much they can take from you, or even to see how much of their OWN stack they'll need to risk in the hand. If the player has just bet $400 of his $2800 stack, chances are they'd be likely to call a big bet on the flop, but might consider folding. They have enough invested in the hand, but could still get away from it if need be.
To sum it up, it's all about gauging strength and potential risk. A player with a strong hand might want to put your big bet to the test preflop by putting you all-in. A player with a marginal hand might fold once they know how big your stack is. I hope this answered the posed question, and I'll be back to write more about tells and the like sometime soon.
Nick
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